[Shadowrun][JDR-ENG].. - Index of - Free

LIFE ON THE EDGEcommunications giant Erika and cybertech powerhouse TransysNeuronet to establish the backbone for the new wireless Matrix andcatch most of their competitors flatfooted.With the influx of money brought on by the IPO and the merger,the new megacorp has diversified its interests into just about everyindustry, including Matrix infrastructure, cyberware, electronics, software,biotech, aerospace, small arms, and many others. They’re definitelyone to watch.Renraku Computer SystEMSWorld Headquarters: Chiba, Japandoesn’t suffer fools gladly, and shadowrunners who go against him (orfail in one of his jobs) might just find themselves on his list—whichalso happens to be his lunch menu.Primarily involved in heavy industry, S-K is also strong in chemicals,finance, and aerospace with a presence in many other areas. Securein its position as the largest corporation in the world, it wields extensivepower and influence.Shiawase CorporatIONWorld Headquarters: Osaka, JapanRenraku, already reeling from the Seattle Arcology debacle, didn’t faretoo well following the Crash—due to the machinations of formerRenraku America division manager Sherman Huang (now rotting insome Renraku jail cell, assuming he’s still alive at all), the corp lost a bigchunk of money and, much more importantly, the opportunity to getthe jump on the emerging augmented-reality market. In the world ofmegacorps, second best is the first loser, and Renraku didn’t even makesecond best.That’s not to say that the Big R is hurting that bad, though—astheir name implies (it means “communication” in Japanese), they’restill the world’s largest data repository and they own a substantial pieceof Asia’s telecom grids, so they’re not without their bargaining chips.After all, when nobody knows what kind of useful or potentially incriminatinginformation you’ve got squirreled away in your databanks,it’s going to take some strong motivation to risk messing with you.That’s what Renraku is counting on as it rebuilds and reinvents itself.The oldest of the megas, Shiawase holds the claim to fame of beingbehind the court case that ultimately led to the extraterritoriality thatall megacorps know and love today. A classic Japanese zaibatsu,Shiawase is run in a traditional “family” style, with most employeessigning lifetime contracts and even marrying within the corp. Families,however, tend to squabble—and a big squabble between the corp’svarious (and interrelated) warring factions back during the Crash resultedin a huge shakeup, redistributing vast swaths of stock and rewritingthe top levels of Shiawase’s org chart in one fell swoop.As for what they do, a better question would be, “What don’t theydo?” Either directly or through subsidiaries, Shiawase has its hands innuclear power, environmental engineering, biotech, heavy industry,technical service, minerals, military goods, and a whole lot more.Wuxing IncorporatedWorld Headquarters: Hong Kong Free Enterprise EnclaveSaeder-Krupp Heavy IndustRIESWorld Headquarters: Essen, GermanySaeder-Krupp Heavy Industries can be summed up in one word:Lofwyr. The great dragon owns nearly 100 percent of this Germanbasedmegacorp, and he rules it with the kind of attention to detailthat only one of his kind can maintain. It’s not impossible to put oneover on Lofwyr, but it’s very difficult—and usually fatal. The wyrmThe only Chinese player on the megacorp scene, Wuxing owes its ascensionto the rarefied ranks of the Big Ten to the late great (dragon,that is) Dunkelzahn, who bequeathed a big pile of nuyen to the company—alongwith a couple of wiz magical goodies for Wuxing’s CEOWu Lung-Wei and his wife Sharon. Wu parlayed this windfall into aposition of new power for his corp, allowing Wuxing to muscle its way48 LIFE ON THE EDGE